Greening the Grey

Re-wilding urban spaces has never mattered more. And the canals that thread through our cities provide great starting places. They are havens of wildlife and connection for those of us who live in towns.

Rohan has many product lines that make as much sense in urban settings as they do on the hill. ‘Greening the Grey’ gave us the opportunity to highlight the relevance of Rohan technologies for the town as well as creating some deep, compelling content that worked across every channel.

If you wondered why technical benefits developed for travel and the outdoor arena were relevant for city clothes, this will answer your questions.

“These waterways were the veins and arteries of the Industrial Revolution, but now they have a different function; they connect people to a side of the city you can’t see any other way. They’re like secret passageways, back doors that connect the city to its past. You can get lost on them and then sort of pop up somewhere you didn’t expect…”

What do you do if you sell insect protective clothing that is primarily bought for expeditions to far off lands and no-one can travel any more? The answer is to make it relevant for adventures nearer to home.

The accompanying campaign would focus on the need for protection against ticks and biting insects in Britain while a subtler sell would demonstrate the need for protection at dusk in cities.

‘Greening the Grey’ demonstrated through storytelling and music that we can live our lives to the full without the fear of getting eaten by unfriendly locals, even if we are around water at dusk.

We very much enjoyed making the film and getting a set of stills with Robin Beatty and his Dad John. Here’s hoping you enjoy it too.

Thanks to the musical models Aaron Diaz on trumpet, Katie Stevens on clarinet and Seth Bye on violin, from the band The Destroyers.